Sorry but I don't like the total silence coming out of Bomberville, but that's just me; I like action and news  like all of you.  Yes we've extended a contract or two and we are distributing the year-end money before the 2018 salary cap  comes in.

But what are the deep thinkers in our organization planning to do?

 I hope they are not thinking status quo; that never seems to work out well. Unless we are dedicated to making sharp improvements here and there, I believe we atrophy from last year.  

After the 2017 NFL cuts were made did we bring in any linebackers for a sniff? I saw other prospects up here but maybe I missed something.

We have got to fix what's broken and I think somehow management must know more than we do ... we are good prognosticators with our comments on this site but I would like management to show us up. 

We are not hearing a lot of news out of the Calgary and Edmonton football clubs so maybe our Blue Bombers are an elite club now (as we join those two in their silence). 

But man I hate twiddling my thumbs as I wait to see what our local gurus are going to do. No news is bad news, say the bored ...  Well at least were not coming off seasons like Ottawa Hamilton and Montréal had.

So maybe I should be grateful for our club and its management.

 

52 minutes ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

I wonder if term could be an issue?  Walters may want him to sign for multiple years and Muamba might be looking for a one year deal.

He had no issues signing a 2 year deal in Sask so I'm guess it might be more about who can give him the most upfront money.  Teams can promise him the moon (Sask & Montreal, I'm looking at you) but if they can't or have no intention of delivering on those promises, what's the point?

5 hours ago, Firekid said:

I heard that Dunk reported that Henoc is all but signed in Mtl. I heard that it was simply money related? I can't seem to find anything on this so called report though or any tweets about it. Has anyone heard anything or seen anything on this?

His parents still live in Montreal as far as I know.  So no, it wouldn't be simply money related.

6 hours ago, tracker said:

O'Shea, of all people ought to understand the impact of an dominant MLB, so let's get this done.

Getting Muamba is not the be-all end-all when it comes to having a dominant middle linebacker.  There are plenty of comparably skilled linebackers out there (or better) that will cost us a lot less.  They don't have a Canadian passport though.  My Canadian passport cost around $80.  Henoc's is worth at least $110,000, as that's the extra dough someone will have to pay him over a comparable import.

I agree with KBF that signing Muamba could be the tipping point for us winning the cup this year, but it's because of the ratio flexibility he would give us at other positions on the field when injuries pile up over 18+ games, not because without him tackles won't get made in the middle.

2 hours ago, mbrg said:

His parents still live in Montreal as far as I know.  So no, it wouldn't be simply money related.

Getting Muamba is not the be-all end-all when it comes to having a dominant middle linebacker.  There are plenty of comparably skilled linebackers out there (or better) that will cost us a lot less.  They don't have a Canadian passport though.  My Canadian passport cost around $80.  Henoc's is worth at least $110,000, as that's the extra dough someone will have to pay him over a comparable import.

I agree with KBF that signing Muamba could be the tipping point for us winning the cup this year, but it's because of the ratio flexibility he would give us at other positions on the field when injuries pile up over 18+ games, not because without him tackles won't get made in the middle.

And this is where Muamba's strip-tease act could cost him. If he delays, the interested teams could well find a blue-chip prospect or even trade for one. A Canuck MLB who is as good as Muamba has been is both rare and has the ability to give the team some very desirable flexibility, but no one is irreplaceable.

1 hour ago, bigg jay said:

He had no issues signing a 2 year deal in Sask so I'm guess it might be more about who can give him the most upfront money.  Teams can promise him the moon (Sask & Montreal, I'm looking at you) but if they can't or have no intention of delivering on those promises, what's the point?

With respect to term, it could be CBA related. There were quite a few players who signed 1 year deals for this season because of the CBA expiring next off-season.

1 hour ago, tracker said:

And this is where Muamba's strip-tease act could cost him.

What does this even mean?

What is the difference between him signing with someone tomorrow vs 2 weeks ago?  Or 2 weeks from now?  None.

Maybe he's considering retirement.  Maybe someone is his family is getting tested for a health issue, and the answer would be the deciding factor as to whether he plays close to home or not.  Maybe he's spending two weeks on the beach before the season starts.   Maybe as a Christian he has decided to spend a few weeks praying.  Or all of the above.  Or none.

This age of instant information has created a weird atmosphere of entitlement.  There are a lot of people here who have zero information and choose to fill in those blanks by thinking he's being a Richard.  Why?  The only thing I've ever heard him publicly say about his free agency was his "working on it" comment on twitter, which was simply a non-response to a fan question.

Those who prefer to fill in the blanks that way are saying volumes more about their character.

 

As for his value, he is an undisputed starter-caliber Canadian playing at a non-traditional position.  For the teams wanting Muamba's services, there is no "blue-chip" player that will negatively affect his value.  Until he proves it on the field, every blue-chip player is just the next Duane Slay or Aaron Maybin.  Maybe Jevaris Jones is going to be a 2018 CFL all-star.  For now he is nothing but another name, maybe the first cut in rookie camp.  Whomever doesn't sign Muamba will be forced to use that guy.  The only way they are choosing to use that guy is once they can't afford Muamba.  That guy will have zero impact on how much Muamba gets paid.

30 minutes ago, Jacquie said:

With respect to term, it could be CBA related. There were quite a few players who signed 1 year deals for this season because of the CBA expiring next off-season.

Hadn't considered the next CBA, and it is usually the Canadian vets that benefit the most so that is a great point.

18 hours ago, mbrg said:

What does this even mean?

What is the difference between him signing with someone tomorrow vs 2 weeks ago?  Or 2 weeks from now?  None.

Maybe he's considering retirement.  Maybe someone is his family is getting tested for a health issue, and the answer would be the deciding factor as to whether he plays close to home or not.  Maybe he's spending two weeks on the beach before the season starts.   Maybe as a Christian he has decided to spend a few weeks praying.  Or all of the above.  Or none.

This age of instant information has created a weird atmosphere of entitlement.  There are a lot of people here who have zero information and choose to fill in those blanks by thinking he's being a Richard.  Why?  The only thing I've ever heard him publicly say about his free agency was his "working on it" comment on twitter, which was simply a non-response to a fan question.

Those who prefer to fill in the blanks that way are saying volumes more about their character.

You make it sound like he is a human being with values and integrity.  Maybe even someone who wants to consider the long term interests of his family.  It is almost like are forgetting that the most important thing to him should be the instant fulfillment of someone on a message board who will complain in two year that he has lost a step and should be tossed aside for the new shiny penny.

 

Well Bob....thanks for that revelation......it has always been and will remain about the money.

2 hours ago, Rich said:

 

Seems like a bit of a cop out - if Okpo is making $170k or more, that seems like a no-brainer tradeoff for signing Muamba to big $$

 

10 minutes ago, Floyd said:

Seems like a bit of a cop out - if Okpo is making $170k or more, that seems like a no-brainer tradeoff for signing Muamba to big $$

Okpo gets cut regardless of whether Muamba signs for 200 or 250.... the question is who else do we have to cut.

Maybe O'Shea/Walters don't think he's as good as we all think he is. But the polite way to say that is "cap space limited"

 I expect that there are alternatives that will work well.  

Theyve got two guys on the roster that some people here think are very good.....

At some point they will withdraw their offer, got to start planning for the upcoming season. 

2 hours ago, Mark F said:

Maybe O'Shea/Walters don't think he's as good as we all think he is. But the polite way to say that is "cap space limited"

 I expect that there are alternatives that will work well.  

Theyve got two guys on the roster that some people here think are very good.....

At some point they will withdraw their offer, got to start planning for the upcoming season. 

And it may be possible that Muamba is simply using the Bombers to leverage the max salary out of Montreal.

Im a big fan of JSK, and think he can (leaning towards will) make the transition fine to MLB. At that though, wil is a bit of a question. Which ian wild will we see this year, and for how long?

Hardaways bashing the phones with Indianapolis...

in a perfect world be nice if Opa would look to restructure his deal..sign for less for chance to be part of something good..I know he likes it here and is a key veteran on our young  defense...If I was making the decisions and we had to shed salary...I would drop Nevis and and restructure Opa if he willing to a 140-145k deal with a good third of it as upfront cash to ease his tax burden...DT who are imports are more easy to find and integrate into your lineup than an import end who has a way bigger learning curve and takes more time to get used to the Canadian field and it's benchmarks etc

14 hours ago, Mark F said:

Maybe O'Shea/Walters don't think he's as good as we all think he is. But the polite way to say that is "cap space limited"

 I expect that there are alternatives that will work well.  

Theyve got two guys on the roster that some people here think are very good.....

At some point they will withdraw their offer, got to start planning for the upcoming season. 

I think they have a limit on how much they are willing to pay him... I think Montreal probably doesn't as they need to seriously overpay for guys to go there right now. Do they want Muamba here? Id imagine giving him a high 6 figure offer suggests they do... Are they gonna overpay and compete with a Montreal who might offer 20 to 50k more? Probably not. 

I would expect that the Bombers have made a business decision on how much the position is worth and worked out a budget range.  They need to stick to it.  That is what any of the well-managed teams in any sport will do.  The minute they start making decisions based on their heart or, especially the will of their fans,  they will be doomed.  That in a nutshell has been the downfall of this club over the last three decades.

Breaking NON HENOC news:

https://www.bluebombers.com/2018/03/15/bombers-sign-receiver-j-coney/

3 minutes ago, WBBFanWest said:

Breaking NON HENOC news:

https://www.bluebombers.com/2018/03/15/bombers-sign-receiver-j-coney/

5’8 

2 minutes ago, Floyd said:

5’8 

You'll notice that I didn't say BIG news...

2 hours ago, Floyd said:

5’8 

Right off the island....

 

Coney doesn't seem to be afraid of traffic and doesn't go down at  the first touch. Lotsa speed, too.

2 minutes ago, tracker said:

Coney doesn't seem to be afraid of traffic and doesn't go down at  the first touch. Lotsa speed, too.

Doesnt seem to have that top speed gear, nor does he seem like a fast twitch blink type. But he always looks to be moving fast. Looks smaller then his listed size to my eye, but he is very compact in build and yeah no fear. Looks like a tough football player. Defense, wr, returner etc. A lot of the small / fast guys seem to be returners who get wedged in at wr. He seems like a fast guy, who also happens to be a blood n guts football player. Not many returners highlights include throwing blocks.